Operating means for sliding doors



Oct. 9, 1951 R. KREIMENDAHL OPERATING MEANS FOR SLIDING DOORS FiledApril 16, 1945 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. RODNEY KREIMENDAHL Oct. 9,1951 R. KREIMENDAHL OPERATING MEANS FOR SLIDING DOORS 5 Sheet-Sheet 2Filed April 16, 19457Ill/Illlldrll!I!!!Il/I/lI/IfIl/lllllll!IIIIIIIIIIAIIIIll/lllllllllliialillliIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIA INVENTOR. RODNEY KREIMENDAHL Agent Oct. 9, 1951 R.KREIMENDAHL ,570,

OPERATING MEANS FOR SLIDING DOORS Filed April 16, 1945 5 Sheets-Sheet 5INVENTOR. RODNEY KREIMENDAHL Agent Oct. 9, 1951 R. KREIMENDAHL OPERATINGMEANS FOR SLIDING DOORS 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed April 16, 1945A\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\GK\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\l\W I\\\\\\\\\\\\\\i\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\v INVENTOR. RODNEYKREIMENDAHL Agent 1951 v R. KREIMENDAHL 2,570,563

OPERATING MEANS FOR SLIDING DOORS 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed April 16, 1945v INVENTOR. RODNEY KREIMENDAHL 72 BY Z Agent Patented Oct. 9, 1951OPERATING MEANS FOR SLIDING poops Rodney Kre'imendahl, Burbank, Calm, asignor to Lockheed Aircraft Corporation, Burbank, Calif.

' .Applicat ion April .16, 1945 seriaIiNQUSS BiS-W 4 Claims.

j Thisinvention relates to sliding doors, and specific'ally to thefixtures or operating mechanism for sliding doors that have a soft,pliable seal installed around the edges. d

.When it'jis desired to keep out moisture and foreign matter, and tomaintain" a dilierential in temperature or air pressure, it is customary:to install a soft, pliable seal around the edge of "the door on thesideadjacent the wall or partition. To be effective, the seal must'bepressed as tightlyasipossible against the partition when the door isfin-the Tiully closed position. I

I:Due to structural restrictions, doors having such "a seal jare oftenofnecessity arranged to slide or roll ial'on'g fixed horizontallyexiendingtracks, attached'in asubstantially parallel arrangement to thewall or partition bearing the door opening. When the door is moved fromthe fully closed position .to the limit of its travel and back again ina plane subs tantiallyparallelto-the sup-porting wa'il'or partition, theseal, pressed tightly against the partition in the closed position, rubsagainst the partitionduring its 'enti-retravel, and is "so damaged by'scufiing "that in a short time it is rendered ineffective for furtheruse. An object of this inventionisto provide mean. "wherebythedoorcannot 'beslida bly operated parailiel to the wall or partition, untilit has first beenrnoved back substantially normal to the wall orpartition, and adequate clearance provide to prevent damage to the sealand door, during the sliding motion. I 1 Another object of the inventionis to provide means thatpositi-vely prevents the door and seal from"being pushed against the partition at any timedur'ing the slidingmotion.

iinother obiect of the invention is to provide operatingmeans-thatpermits the full weight of thed'o'o'r to -pre'ss the seal againstthe-wall or-partitionwhen the-11001 is in the fully-closed posiur-therobject is to provide-a roller carrier that will prevent the door.from jumping ofi the tracks.

Gther obj'ects and advantages of the invention wvillbecom'e apparentfrom the follow-ing'detailed description oi typical preferred forms ofthe inventio'n, -in whichreference will be made to the accompanyingdrawings, and in which like nume-rals are em'ployed to designate likeparts e.

throughout the same.

Figure 1 isan elevation-a1 view of th'e-door and the -operatingmean's,-as seen from the insideof the doorway, with the door in closedposition.

Figure '2 is an enlarged fragmentar perspec- 1 Figure 4 is a viewsimilar to Figurefi showing the door in the open position. 7

Figure5 is an enlarged vertical section taken substantially on the line5-5 of Figure -1.

'Eigure'B is an enlarged sectional view taken substantiallyon the lineii-.5 of Figure 1.

Figure 7 .is an enlarged vertical section taken substantially on theline 1-1 .of Figure '1.

Figure 8 is anelevational view showing a mothfied operating means for acontoured door,, a s seen from the inside of the doorway, with ,thedoorin the closedposition. v

Figure 9 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of the modifiedoperating means when the door is inthe openposition.

Figure 10 is .an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of the upperportion .of the vInQdifiBd operating means when "the door'is in theclosed position. I

Figure 11 is an enlarged fragmentary elevationa] view takensubstantially in the direction of il.-f|l in Figure .Q ShOWi ig thelatching device on the upper track of the modified operatin means whenthedooris in position tobe slidably operated along the tracks.

' Figure flz is an enlarged sectional view taken substantially on theline l 2-.-I2 of Figure '8.

Figure Q13 isan enlarged sectional view taken substantially on the linel3-L3 of Figure '8.

Referring to the drawings wherein a preferred embodiment of theinvention is illustrateii, ,m .meral 10 designates a sliding do r. llihie Par- ,tic'ularstructure of vthe'door, insofar as the invention isconcerned, is immaterial. Ihe .dQ'Qr 1,10, ,chosen for purposes ofillustration, isjsholwn ,in Figure 11 and embodies a,channelesuppo'rting frame ,H, Z ,stiffeners l2 ,extiending'horizontallybetween Ithesupporjting frame, and V a sheet metal skin 13 secured toboth sides or the frame. A sealingstrip [4, of rubber composition pr,"like material, is fasteneduaround the edge ,of the door onthes'ideadjacent to the wallor partition 15.. A suitable stiffening m'ember.52 surrounds the door opening on the side opposite thedoor.

The door is .mounted so as to he capablfi .01 travel parallel vv.to thewall or partition, being supported .on an upper horizontally extendingtrack L6 and guided by a lowerihorizontally extendi n t ackJ' he uppertrack .l1 ,.nre erab1,y a tubu ar section, i supported .atiheens lemot'from the door opening by bracket 18, and at the other end by "bracketI9. The lower track "l'1, {also a tubular section, is disposed so'as topermit'free a'ccessto the'doorway, andis supported at its endad'jacent'the door openingby bracket '20, and at its other extremitybybracket '21. These supporting brackets mayibe bolte'd {or riveted, orotherwise suitably zfixed, to any .suitable structural memberof1the1vehicle,.and

for the purpose of illustration, :brackets 8 and.

l9 are shown fastened to the wall or partition by means of rivets 22,and brackets and 2| are shown fastened to the floor 23 by means ofrivets 24.

A roller housing 25, adapted to run along the track and support the doorthereon, is pivotally connected to a bracket attached to each corner atthe top of the door, and to a bracket attached to the bottom corner ofthe door adjacent the lower track when the door is in the closedposition. Each of the said housings comprise a tubular portion 26 whoseinner diameter is slightly larger than the outside diameter of thetrack. Three spaced pairs of side plates 21 are mounted in equallyspaced relationship on the outer periphery of the tubular portion 2'6,and are so disposed that when the door is in the open position, one pairof side plates is directly above the top of the track. A roller 28 ispivotally mounted within each pair of said side plates and projects asmall distance below the inner surface of the tubular portion so as toengage the track at all times.

A pair of spaced radially extending arms 29, rigidly attached to andforming a part of each roller housing 25, is adapted to be pivotallyconnected to the door-attaching brackets mentioned above. In thepreferred form of the invention shown in Figure 1 and Figure 2, bracket30 attached to the side of the door frame at the upper right handcorner, bracket 3| attached to the top of the door frame at the upperleft hand corner, and bracket 32 attached to the front side of the doorframe at the lower left hand corner, are formed with rearwardlyextending arms and are pivotally connected at 33 to the forwardlyextending arms 25 on the roller housing 25.

An internally threaded tube shown in Figure 5, is welded at 34 to theupper track l6. A bracket 36, attached to the partition l5 and stiffenerchannel 31 by means of, bolt 38, supports at its outer end a bolt 53.Passing through spacer 54 disposed between tube 35 and the bracket 36,the bolt 53 screws into tube 35 and supports track l6.

A tubular section 39, encircling the upper track l6, extends between andis rigidly attached to the roller housing 25 located at each corner ofthe top of the door. A longitudinal slot 40 permits the spacer 54 toslide therein when the door is in position to be slidably operatedparallel to the wall or partition. Leading from the slot 40 is a rightangled slot 4| that receives the spacer 54 when the door is moved normalto the wall or partition. A rubber bumper 42, attached to track l6adjacent the supporting brackets l8 and L9, lessens the impact force onthe roller housing.

In'order to hold the door in the closed position when the air pressureoutside the door exceeds the internal pressure by an amount suffi-'cient to overcome the weight of the door, and

to aid in pressing the seal against the partition, the door may beprovided with a latch similar to that shown in Figure 6. To operate thelatch,

operable by the door handle, and an intermediate rod 46 connected to theequalizer lever and actuating a pivoted member 41. Pivotally connectedto the opposite ends of the member 41, a rod 48 actuates a bellcrank 43,pivotally attached at III to the bracket I06 and adapted to latch intothe member 44.

The centralized trunnion of the equalizer lever 45, shown in Figure '7,extends through the door panel and may be provided with an actuatinghandle 50, pivoted and spring loaded so as to normally lay adjacent theside of the door nearest the wall or partition, and a rigid actuatinghandle 5| on the other side of the door, that permits of selectivemanual operation from either panel side. If desired, the latching meansmay be equipped with a key lock.

Assuming the door to be in the fully closed position as shown in Figure1 and Figure 2, the roller housing 25 will be disposed as shown inFigure 3, with one of the three equally spaced roller near the bottomside of the track. The off-center location of the pivot 33 permits thefull weight of the door to press the seal l4 against the wall orpartition. The spacer 54, positioned in the slot 4| as shown in Figure2, prevents'the door from being slidably operated parallel to the wallor partition.

Before the door can be slidably operated, it must first be moved back,normal to the partition, until the inner face of the brackets 36 and 3|rests on the tubular portion 26 of the roller housing as shown in Figure4. The spacer 54 will then be disposed in line with the longitudinalslot 40 and the door can be moved parallel to the wall or partition.Referring again to Figure 4, it can be seen that the pivot 33 is solocated that the-weight of the door is supported on the track |6 duringthe sliding motion. The roller housing 25 will be disposed so that oneof the three equally spaced rollers will roll on top of the track andpermit the door to be easily moved from one position to another. Thespacer 54 is retained within the longitudinal slot 40 during the entiremovement parallel to the partition, and it is therefore impossible topush the door or seal against the partition during the sliding motion.The location of the three equally spaced rollers in the roller housingprecludes any possibility of the housing jumping off the track.

In the modified door operating means illustrated in Figure 8 to Figure13 inclusive, the door 6|] is formed to close an opening in a contouredsurface. The particular structure of the door is immaterial, but for thepurpose of illustration, the door shown in Figure 8 embodies a contouredZ frame 6| around the edge of the door, a skin 62 secured to the outsideleg of the 2 frame, and horizontally extending sheet metal pans 63conforming to the contour and adapted to be fastened to the 2 frame andthe skin. A sealing strip I4, of rubber composition or like material isfastened to the inner leg of the Z frame on the side adjacent to thewall or partition 64.

The door 60 is mounted so as to be capable of travel parallel to thewall or partition 64 along an upper track 65 and a lower track 66,preferably formed of tubular sections, spaced equally from the center ofthe door. These tracks are supported at opposite ends by bracket 61attached to the wall or partition 64.

The carriage 68, adapted to run along the upper track 65, and thecarriage 69, adapted to run along the lower track 66, are pivotallyconnected to the door operating mechanism. Each of the carriagescomprises a tubular portion 16 whose inner diameter is slightly largerthan the outside diameter of the tracks. Three spaced pairs of sideplates 21 are mounted substantially at each end of the tubular portionin equally spaced relationship on the :outer periphery. A roller 28 ispivotally mounted within each pair of side plates and projects a smalldistance below the inner surface of the tubular portion so as to engagethe track at all times. Rigidly connecting the upper carriage 6'8 andthe lower carriage 69 so that they act as a unit, are'the vertical postsH and the diagonal 12, all preferabl formed of tubular sections.

- Rigidly attached to each end of the carriage and forming a partthereof, is a pair of spaced horizontally extending arms 13, adapted tobe pivotally connected to a portion of the door operating mechanism. Thedoor is attached to the two U-shaped arms 74 of the operating mechanismby the angles #6. The arms M areactuated by a rigid tube I! pivotallyattached to the other end of the arm, and a rigid tube 78 pivotallyattached to a mid-portion of the arm. Extend- 'ing vertically betweenthe upper and lower tube 18 and rigidly fastened thereto, is a torsionalstiffening member 91 adapted to make the upper and lower member actsimultaneously. The bellcrank 19 and the other end of the tube 11 arepivotally connected to the arms 73 farthest removed from the door on theupper and lower track. The substantially T-shaped member 89 and theother end of the upper tube 18 are pivotally connected to the arm 13adjacent the door on the upper track, and the bellcrank 8| and the lowertube 1-8 'are pivotally connected to the arm 13 adjacent the door on thelower track. A forwardly extending member I91, rigidly attached totheend of tubes 18 adjacent the arms 73, contacts the carriage 69 when thedoor is in position to b'eslidably operated and prevents the operatisconnected at one end to an arm 82 of the bellorank 19 and at the otherend to an arm HM of the bellcrank 8|. The other arm of the bellcrank 19and the bellcrank BI is rigidly attached to the tube 11 and the tube 18respectively.

One laterally extending arm 85 of the T shap'ed member 80 is rigidlyattached to the tube 78, ;while the other laterally extending arm St ispro- --vided with a rigidly attached pin 81 adapted to engage the arm 9of the latching cam 88.

The latching cam 88, shown in Figure 11, is

pivotally attached at 89 to spaced parallel lugs 99 projecting upwardlyand outwardly from the carriage 68, and comprises a plate 9! adapted to-'engage the pin 8! when the dooris in position to be slidably operated,a pair of spaced parallel arms 92, a roller 93 pivotally mounted withinthe arms 92, and a tube I95 extending between the plate 9| and thearms92 and rigidly attaching them in a fixed definite relationship. When the'd'oor'is fully closed, the roller 93 fits into a slot 94 in thecarriage 6B and a slot 95 in the track 65, and prevents the door frombeing slidably operated. A spring 96, attached to the carriage 68 "atoneend, engages the arm 9! at the other fend and assures retention ofthe "roller 93in the slots 94 and 95 until the latching cam is actuatedby the pin 81.

In order to hold the door in the closed position when the air .pressureoutside the door exceeds the internal pressure by an amount suflicientto overcome the weight of the door, and to aid in pressing the sealagainst the partition, the door may beprovided with a latch similar tothat shown in Figure 13. To operate the latch,-the rod link age at thehandle, shown in Figure 8, may com prise a common equalizer lever 45operable by the door handle, and an intermediate rod 16 con 'nected tothe equalizer lever and actuating a piv-= oted member '47. Pivotallyconnected to the op-' posite ends of the member 41, a rod 48 actuates a'bellcra'nk I98, pivotally attached at H0 to the bracket 199 and adaptedto latch into the member 99.

The door may be provided with a centralized trunnion e9 extendingthrough the door, having a rigid actuating handle '5! on the inside, anda pivoted, spring loaded actuating handle 50 on the outside, adapted tonormally lay adjacent the side of thedoor, similar to the handles shownin Figure 7 for the preferred embodiment of the invention. If desiredthe latchingmeans may also be equipped with a key lock.

To retain the door in the fully opened position, "a fiat spring I fixedat one end to the upper track 65 at lei, as shown in Figure 12, isprovided with a pin I92 rigidly attached substantially at its end andadapted to project through a hole 493 in the track and engage one of therollers -28 in the carriage 68.

A rubber bumper 42, attached to the upper track 65 and the lower track66 adjacent the supporting bracket 67, lessens the impact on thecarriages 63 and 69.

Assuming the door to be in position to be slidably operated parallel tothe wall or partition as shown in Figure 9, the operating means aredisposed in the form of a parallelogram having the U-shaped arm 14 andthe connecting rod 84 as one pair of opposite parallel sides, and thetubes Ti and 18 as the other pair of opposite parallel sides; The roller93 of the latching cam 88 is positioned outside the slot in the track65, as shown in Figure 11, and rides on the outside wall of the trackwhile the door is being moved from one position to another. As the pin87 in the arm 86 of the T-shaped member 88 cannot become disengaged fromthe arm 9! of the latching cam 88 so long as the roller 93 bears on theoutside wall of the track 65, the operating mechanism must remain in theposition shown in Figure 9 While being slidably operated, and it istherefore impossible to push the door or seal against the partition atany time during the sliding motion. When the door is being moved fromopen to closed position, the pressure placed on the roller 93, causesit, at the end of its travel, to automatically drop into the slot 95 inthe track and forcibly release the pin 87. Slight effort is required tocontinue the operation of closing the door.

When in the fully closed position shown in Figure 10, the arms of theparallelogram of the operating means will be disposed so as to permitthe door 60 to evenly press the seal 14 against the wall or partition.The spring 99 assures retention of the roller 93 in the slot 95, and,prevents movement of the door parallel to the wall or partition. Beforethe door can again, be slidably operated, it must first be swung backfrom the partition until the pin 87 in the arm 86 of the T-shaped member89 engages the arm 91 of the latching cam 88 and removes the roller 93from the slot 95 in the track. When the door is in this position,adequate clearance is provided to prevent the seal and the door frombeing damaged during the sliding motion.

'Whil the form of the embodiments of the present invention, as hereindisclosed, have been designed especially for doors and constitute thepreferred forms, the invention has many applications. It is especiallyadaptable for use in installations such as windows. It is therefore tobe understood that the invention is not to .be construed as limited tothe particular embodiments or applications described above, butis to betaken to include any variations or modifications that may appear tothose skilled in the art or fall within the scope of the followingclaims.

' I claim:

1. In a structure having a door opening in a wall thereof, ahorizontally extending tubular shaped track above said doorway, a secondhorizontally extending tubular shaped track adjacent the lower part ofsaid doorway and parallel to the first mentioned track, means securingthe tracks to the said structure, a door, a sealing strip around theedge of the door on the side adjacent the wall, roller mounting meansencircling said track and having a plurality of rollers equally spacedaround the periphery thereof "adapted to roll upon said track, hangerscarried by the door and pivotally connected to the roller mountingmeans, said hangers having rearwardly extending arms so disposed thatthe weight of the door presses the sealing strip against the wall whenthe door is in the closed position, and a tubular shaped memberencircling said upper track and holding the roller mounting means onsaid track in assembled relationship, said member being provided with aplurality of slots that engage one of the said track supporting meansand prevents the door from being pushed against the wall during thesliding operation and prevents movement of the door parallel to the walljintil it has first been moved back substantially normal to the wall andadequate clearance provided to prevent damage to the sealing strip whilethe door is being slidably operated.

2. Mounting means for a closure comprising spaced-apart tubular trackscarried by adjacent wall structure, means supported on said tracks .forsliding movement lengthwise thereof between positions corresponding tothe open and closed positions of said closure and for oscillatorymovements on said tracks between two limits,

hangers connected to said closure and pivotally connected to saidsupporting means in eccentric relation with respect to the axes aboutwhich said supporting means oscillate, whereby rotation of saidsupporting means in the direction of one of said limits moves saidclosure toward said structure and rotation of said supporting means inthe direction of the other of said limits moves said closure away fromsaid structure, and means mounted adjacent said supporting means forlatching said supporting means against movement lengthwise of saidtracks when it is rotated to said first limit and for releasing saidsupporting means when it is rotated to the other of said limits, wherebymovement of said closure lengthwise of said tracks between closed andopen positions and open and closed positions is permitted only when saidsupporting means has been rotated to the other of said limits.

3. Mounting means for a closure comprising spaced-apart tubular trackscarried by adjacent wall structure, means supported on said tracks forsliding movement lengthwise thereof between positions corresponding tothe open and closed positions ,of said closure and for oscillatorymovements on said tracks between two limits, hangers connected to saidclosure andpivotally connected to said supporting means in eccentricrelation with respect to the axes about which said supporting meansoscillate, whereby rotation of said supporting means in the direction ofone of said limits moves said closure toward said structure and rotationof said supporting means in the direction of the other of said limitsmoves said closure away from said structure, a sleeve on one of saidtracks and connected to said supporting means for lengthwise andoscillatory movements therewith, said sleeve being formed with a camtrack having longitudinally and circumferentially extending portions,and means cooperating with said cam track for latching said supportingmeans against movement lengthwise of said tubular tracks when it isrotated to said first limit and for releasing said supporting means whenit is rotated to the other of said limits, whereby movement of saidclosure lengthwise of said tubular tracks between closed and openpositions and open and closed positions is permitted only when saidsupporting means has been rotated to the other of said limits.

4. In a wall having a door opening, a door which may be closed againstsaid wall, a sealing strip around the edge of the door on the sideadjacent said wall spaced, parallel, horizontally-extending tubulartracks carried by said wall for supporting said door and for guiding itparallel to said wall, a carriage encircling each of said tracks andhaving a plurality of rollers for engagement therewith, said carriagesbeing movable lengthwise of said tracks and being rotatable thereonbetween two limits, hangers rigidly secured to said door and pivotallyconnected to said carriages in eccentric relation with respect to theaxes about which said carriages are rotatable, whereby rotation of saidcarriages in the direction of one of said limits moves said door againstsaid partition to compress said sealing strip between the door and saidwall and whereby upon rotation of said carriages in the direction of theother of said limits said door is moved to carry said sealing strip awayfrom and in spaced relation with respect to said wall, and means forlatching said carriages against movement lengthwise of said tracks whensaid carriages are rotated to said first limit and for releasing saidlatching means when said carriages are rotated to the other of saidlimits, whereby movement of said door lengthwise of said tracks betweenclosed and opened positions and opened and closed positions is permittedonly when said carriages are rotated to the other of said limits.

RODNEY KREIMENDAHL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 823,065 Meyer et a1. June 12,1906 901,531 Cerdes et a1. Oct. 20, 1908 1,274,159 Cerdes July 30, 19182,170,870 Nichols Aug. 29, 1939 2,199,160 Leonard Apr. 30, 19402,320,216 Brister May 25, 1943

